THE CARIBBEAN
Thursday, 02.26.09
In Antigua, R. Allen Stanford kept low profile
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com
R. Allen Stanford has long cut a wide swath in the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda where he has arranged financing for many government development projects and generated his share of political controversy.
He moved to the Eastern Caribbean island in the mid-1980s, obtained Antiguan citizenship about 10 years ago and was knighted by the government in 2006. Stanford flies in on his private jet. Across the street from the airport a former cow pasture turned cricket field bears his name.
A former airline owner, he sold his shares in Caribbean Star in 2007 after the carrier merged with another Caribbean-based airline, LIAT. He also once owned Miramar-based Caribbean Sun, which is now defunct.
In an island where politicians and other well-known movers are accessible, Stanford, however, is considered elusive.
Still his reputation for lending the government of Antigua millions of dollars on the open market has earned him a major stake in the Eastern Caribbean island. It also has made him a lighting rod for controversy on the political scene, where some have long criticized his reach and deep pockets.
Among the projects he has backed: a long-awaited hospital that opened on Monday and was built by the government.
He also owns a commercial bank, the Bank of Antigua, which isn't a target of the probe. Still, that did not stop dozens of customers from lining up at the bank shortly before closing time Tuesday to close out their accounts, fearful they may lose their savings.
It was unclear Tuesday whether Antigua regulators will open their own probe of Stanford's dealings. Leroy King, head of Antigua's Financial Services Regulatory Commission, could not be reached.
In a radio address to the nation Tuesday night, during which the ruling party called elections in Antigua and Barbuda for March 12, Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer briefly addressed the Stanford issue.
'It is imperative that all political aspirants and activists recognize that continuing excesses at this time can cause untold damage to our country's threatened economic prospects,' he said.
Last year, Stanford made headlines in the cricket world when 11 West Indian cricket players became millionaires after winning his much touted Twenty20 cricket tournament that had a winner-takes-all prize of $20 million. In announcing the annual series between England's national team and the Stanford Superstars, a team of West Indies players, Stanford plucked dollar bills from a crate to illustrate the high stakes.
On Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board said further talks with Stanford and his financial corporation over a new sponsorship deal have been suspended.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report
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